Networked, wireless lighting control system with distributed intelligence

ABSTRACT

A programmable lighting control system integrates time-based, sensor-based, and manual control of lighting and other loads. The system includes one or more groups of controlled lighting areas, which may be, for example, floors of a building. Each group may have one or more lighting zones, which may be, for example, individual rooms or offices on a building floor. Each lighting zone includes occupancy and/or daylight sensors that may be wirelessly coupled to a gateway of the group. Each gateway is coupled to a network, such as, for example, a local area network (LAN). Control software, residing on a computer (e.g., a personal computer or a server) coupled to the network and accessible via the network, remotely communicates with and controls the lighting zones either individually, groupwise, or globally. Each lighting zone can also be locally controlled at the gateway and can function independently of the control software and the gateway.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to lighting control systems. More particularly,the invention relates to networked lighting control systems that usewired or wireless connectivity and distributed intelligence to controlmultiple zones of room or area lighting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Lighting control systems automate the operation of lighting devicesthroughout a building or residence based upon preset time schedulesand/or occupancy and/or daylight sensing. These systems may also be usedto automate the operation of other electrical devices or appliancesranging from, for example, simple fans to more complex HVAC (heating,ventilating, and air conditioning) systems. These systems may further beused in conjunction with fire and/or security systems. Lighting controlsystems typically employ occupancy sensors and/or daylight sensors todetermine which lighting devices to activate, deactivate, or adjust thelight level of, and when to do so. Occupancy sensors typically sense thepresence of one or more persons within a defined area and generatesignals indicative of that presence. Daylight sensors typically sensethe amount of daylight present within a defined area and generatesignals indicative of that amount. Known lighting control systemsreceive those sensor signals at a central lighting control panel, whichmay be located, for example, in a building manager's relays, switchingdevices, and/or dimming ballasts to drive in order to turn on or offand/or adjust the light levels of one or more lighting devices.

Lighting control systems are advantageous because they reduce energycosts by automatically lowering light levels or turning off devices andappliances when not needed, and they allow all devices in the system tobe controlled from one location.

Known lighting control systems also have, however, many disadvantages.For example, one type of known system requires each sensor,manually-operated switch, and load (i.e., a lighting or other electricaldevice to be controlled by the system) to be hardwired to the lightingcontrol panel or to a main communications bus, which is hardwired to thelighting control panel. Relays for connecting/disconnecting power toloads are usually incorporated in the control panel. Many commercial,educational, and industrial settings can have hundreds, if notthousands, of sensors, switches, and loads. Accordingly, hardwiring eachdevice to a main bus or control panel often involves long wire runs thatresult in costly and time consuming installation and maintenance.

Another disadvantage of known lighting control systems is that alldecision making occurs at the control panel. Thus, if the control panelbecomes inoperative, all lighting devices in the system are no longerunder automated control and some or all may not operate even manually.Similarly, if a connection to or from the control panel is severed, thelighting devices served by that connection are no longer under automatedcontrol and also may not operate manually.

Still another disadvantage is the one-way communication from the sensorsto the control panel. Changes to a sensor's operational settings,parameters, or modes (e.g., sensor time delays, photocell set-points,etc.) have to be made at the individual sensor itself and cannot be madefrom the control panel.

Conversely, a further disadvantage is that any partial or system-widefunctional change, such as an immediate need to override current systemsettings (e.g., during a fire or other emergency), cannot be made fromanywhere but the control panel. Likewise, even routine modifications,such as to a preset time schedule of some or all of the lightingdevices, cannot be made from anywhere but the control panel even if thatlocation is not convenient at the time.

Another type of known lighting control system is referred to as a “DALI”(digital addressable lighting interface) system, which adheres to astandardized digital protocol. This system includes dimming andelectrical ballasts as well as sensors (e.g., daylight and occupancy),manually-operated switches, lighting and perhaps other loads, and acentral controller running application software. A DALI controller cancommunicate with devices in the system via bi-directional data exchange.However, a disadvantage is that every device in the system with whichthe controller is to communicate has to be assigned an address that hasto be manually identified to the controller upon start-up (known as“commissioning”). Initial set-up and subsequent modification of aDALI-based system can thus be complicated and time consuming. Moreover,if the assignment of addresses does not correspond in some way to thedevices' physical location, maintenance and replacement of faultydevices can also be complicated and time consuming. Another disadvantageof a DALI-based system is the limited number of addresses available,which is believed to be 64. DALI therefore cannot be used in largeinstallations without using another technology to overcome thelimitation, which increases the complexity of the system. DALI-basedsystems also have the same disadvantages as other knowncentrally-controlled systems: they are vulnerable to controllermalfunctions/outages, severed connections, and the inability to makelocal or global operational mode changes from anywhere but the centralcontroller.

In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to be able to provide anetworked, wireless lighting control system with distributedintelligence for both global and local lighting control capabilities andfor local independent operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, a lighting control system is providedthat effectively integrates time-based, sensor-based, and manual controlwith distributed intelligence throughout a building or building complex.As used herein, distributed intelligence means that all lighting controldecisions, as well as all switching and dimming actions, are carried outby the devices within each individual “lighting zone.” A lighting zonemay be, for example, an individual room or office, a classroom, amanufacturing area, a lobby, or other defined area. Lighting zonesinclude one or more intelligent devices such as, for example, occupancysensors, daylight sensors, power packs, and manually-operated switches.The intelligence is provided by microcontrollers and firmwareincorporated in preferably each device. Relays connecting/disconnectingpower to lighting devices are located locally within the lightingcontrol zone, such as, for example, in sensors and/or power packs. Themanually-operated switches are connected in series with the lights(i.e., the load) and are typically mounted in a single gang wall unitthat may also include a sensor and/or a relay. The lighting controlsystem of the invention is “self-commissioning,” which means the systemautomatically searches for and identifies devices connected to it, thuseliminating the tedious and time consuming task of manually identifyingeach device in the system. The system can be wirelessly connectedbetween lighting zones and centrally, but not exclusively, controlledvia Web-based (i.e., World Wide Web-based) lighting control softwareexecuting on a host computer. Advantageously, the Web-based softwareprovides global access to the lighting system, which means the systemcan be remotely controlled from anywhere in the world where Web accessis available. Remote system upgrades and status inquiries can be easilyperformed via the control software. Moreover, each of the zonesalternatively may be controlled locally, via a wall unit in the zone ora gateway device nearby. Gateway devices connect multiple lighting zonesto a preferably Ethernet local area network (“LAN”) to which the hostcomputer executing the Web-based lighting control software is connected.The system advantageously eliminates the need for centrally hardwiredequipment and enables the devices of each zone to function independentlyof any central control. That is, the Web-based software does not makelighting control decisions—those decisions are made in the individuallighting control zones by the intelligent devices deployed therein.Thus, connection to the host computer is not required in order tomaintain automated lighting control in each of the lighting controlzones of the system. The lighting control system can be advantageouslydeployed in schools, offices, museums, government buildings, apartmentand building complexes, parking garages, factories, retail stores andmalls, and combinations thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other advantages of the invention will be apparent uponconsideration of the following detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate various exemplary embodiments of lighting controlzones according to the invention;

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate two exemplary embodiments of wall unitsaccording to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of finger-touchcontrols according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of finger-touchcontrol software according to the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a wall unit configuredwith a wall switch and sensor according to the invention;

FIGS. 9A-C illustrate various exemplary embodiments of daylight sensingmodes according to the invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of joint control of alighting device by both an occupancy sensor and a daylight sensoraccording to the invention;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of occupancy anddaylight sensors according to the invention;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a power packaccording to the invention;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a power packaccording to the invention;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of atransceiver/power supply according to the invention;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a bridgeaccording to the invention;

FIGS. 16 and 17 are block diagrams of respective embodiments of a bridgeaccording to the invention;

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a network configurationof bridges and a gateway according to the invention;

FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of power distribution with abridge according to the invention;

FIGS. 20A and B illustrate an exemplary embodiment of front and backpanels of a gateway according to the invention;

FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a menu interface of agateway according to the invention;

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a gatewayaccording to the invention;

FIG. 23 is a high level block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of thelighting control software according to the invention;

FIGS. 24A-K illustrate an exemplary embodiment of various screendisplays of the lighting control software according to the invention;

FIG. 25 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a scene controller wallunit according to the invention; and

FIG. 26 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a lighting control systemaccording to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The lighting control system of the invention incorporates time-based,sensor-based, and manual control. Time-based control automaticallyswitches lights on and off based upon preset time schedules orastronomical clocks. Sensor-based control automatically switches lightson and off based upon occupancy and/or daylight. And manual controlswitches lights on and off based upon manual toggling of a wall switchby a user.

The lighting control system of the invention advantageously providesnumerous programmable settings/operational modes that can be configuredindividually for each lighting control zone. Settings include numericaldevice parameters, such as time delays for occupancy sensing andphotocell set-points for daylight sensing. Other settings include switchoperation (e.g., manual/automatic on), dimming limits, enable/disablesound detection, broadcast channel for switches and sensors (e.g.,occupancy and daylight), and source channel for switches and sensors(e.g., occupancy and daylight). “Broadcast channel” refers to any ofseveral possible channels on which all switches and sensors of theinvention can be configured to output their information. Some sensorscan output two “poles” of occupancy or daylight information on twochannels simultaneously, and each pole can be independently configuredwith different parameter settings, such as time delay. Devices withrelays or dimming outputs can then be configured to “listen” to anycombination of the available channels via their “source channel”settings, which advantageously can be changed remotely or at the device.Still other settings detail a zone's operational mode. Operational modesdefine how a zone's relays and/or dimming outputs react to events suchas occupancy, daylight, and manual switching. Operational modes include:override lights on or off; scheduled lights on or off: automatic on oroff with astronomical clock; manual on or off via local switch; track orignore occupancy, daylight, and/or switch(es); and follow only internaloccupancy, photocell, and/or internal switch(es). The “follow only”modes refer to those wall units of the invention that are a combinationrelay and either a sensor, a manual switch, or both a sensor and amanual switch. These units can be programmed to operate such that onlythe devices' internal source (sensor, photocell, or switch) affects thatunit's relay or dimming output.

The factory default setting for all relays and dimming outputs in alighting control zone is to track all occupancy and daylight sensors andmanually-operated switches within that zone. This setting creates thefollowing “normal” operational mode, referred to as “automaticon/automatic off/permanent off:” lights automatically turn on whenoccupancy is sensed, lights automatically turn off when vacancy orsufficient daylight is sensed, and lights turn off and stay off when thewall switch is manually pressed regardless of occupancy or daylight. Theswitch has to be pressed again to turn the lights back on and restorethe sensor to automatic on/automatic off operation.

Lighting control zones that have both sensors and manually-operatedswitches can be further configured to operate in the following advancedmodes of operation: manual on to semi-automatic, manual on to overrideon, manual on to fully automatic, and predictive off. The“semi-automatic” mode operates as follows: The lights are initially offand the sensors are ignored. A manually-operated switch is pressed toturn on the lights. Once on, the manually-operated switches in that zonewill have permanent-off functionality as described above. When occupancyis no longer sensed, the sensor times out after a time delay and thelights automatically turn off. The time delay is programmable and allowsa user to momentarily leave the room or defined area and return (withinthe time delay) without the lights turning off. Once the lights do turnoff, there is an additional grace period during which re-entry into theroom or area will automatically turn the lights back on, and thesensor(s) will continue to monitor occupancy and/or daylight. Once thesensor turns off the lights, and the additional grace period expires,the lights will not automatically turn back on if occupancy orinsufficient daylight is sensed. The user will have to manually turn thelights back on with a switch press.

The “manual on to override on” mode disables the automatic off featureonce the wall switch is manually pressed to initially turn on thelights. In this mode, the lights stay on regardless of vacancy orsufficient daylight.

The “manual on to fully automatic” mode operates as follows: The lightsare initially off and the sensor is ignored. A manually-operated switchis pressed to turn on the lights. The switch press also activates thesensor to operate fully automatically (i.e., automatic on/automaticoff), while the switch resumes permanent off functionality. So long asoccupancy is sensed, the lights will stay on. When occupancy is nolonger sensed, the sensor times out after the time delay and the lightsautomatically turn off. When occupancy is again sensed, the lightsautomatically turn back on.

Another advantageous feature of the invention is the “predictive off”mode. Rather than create the habit of walking out of a room withoutturning off the lights (because presumably a lighting control systemwill do it automatically), this mode does not automatically turn off thelights when an occupant leaves the room. Upon an occupant manuallyturning off the lights, the occupancy sensor determines whether theoccupant has stayed in the room (e.g., to view a slide projection) orleft the room. If the occupant has stayed in the room, the lights willstay off until the wall switch is pressed again. If the occupant hasleft the room, the lights will turn on automatically when the nextoccupant enters the room.

The lighting control system of the invention has three main components:devices, lighting control zones, and a network backbone. Each device,which may be an occupancy sensor, a daylight sensor, a power pack, or awall unit, has the ability to communicate over the network backbone.Each device preferably has an integrated microcontroller and firmwareand is equipped with preferably RJ-45 style communication ports.

A lighting control zone is a collection of devices that functiontogether to control the lighting of a defined area. For example, alighting control zone may be an office lobby that includes an occupancysensor, power pack, and wall unit that controls the lighting in thelobby. Devices within a zone are wired in a daisy-chain fashionadvantageously in any order preferably using standard category 5(“CAT-5”) cabling. While lighting control zones are typically made up ofmultiple devices of different types, a zone may contain just a singledevice. A zone may also have multiple instances of the same device ordevice type, such as, for example, two or more occupancy sensors orpower packs of the same or different type. Multiple lighting controlzones are networked together. Each lighting control zone, however,advantageously retains the ability to function independently from therest of the system. That is, there is no dependence on a centralcontroller to make lighting control decisions and issue lighting controlcommands for each lighting control zone. Moreover, a lighting controlzone does not even require a physical connection to a central controllerin order to operate automatically and independently.

The network backbone of the invention is the communication network thatinterconnects the lighting control zones and the Web-based lightingcontrol software. The network backbone includes devices referred to asbridges and gateways that work together to transport and routeinformation between lighting control zones and the lighting controlsoftware. Multiple control zones can be wired individually to a bridge.The bridge is a device that acts as a hub by aggregating communicationtraffic from these connected zones and placing that traffic onto thebackbone. A bridge also acts as a communications router by forwardinginformation from the backbone to the applicable zones. Gateways aredevices that link the backbone to a preferably Ethernet LAN where a hostcomputer executing the control software resides. The network backbone ofthe invention advantageously can include multiple bridges and gatewaysdeployed in virtually any physical topology. Bridges and gatewayscommunicate via wired CAT-5 connections and/or wireless connections overa wireless mesh network.

A wireless mesh network advantageously provides multiple redundant pathsof communication between a collection of devices. Every wireless devicein a mesh network is an active transmitter, receiver, and router ofinformation. Once initiated to start or join a network, mesh networkingdevices automatically establish communication with as many other devicesas possible. Benefits of a wireless mesh network include elimination ofcables that are costly to run and are at risk of being cut; inherentself-healing, thus preventing single device failures from interruptingcommunication; navigation around blocked paths; and reliable delivery ofmessages and control commands to their destinations even in adverseconditions. While certain embodiments of bridges have internal circuitrycapable of wireless communication, gateways require connection to awireless transceiver/power supply of the invention (described below) orwireless bridge in order to communicate wirelessly. While the range oftwo wireless (radio) devices with line of sight can be several hundredfeet, wireless devices of the invention spaced within 100 feet of eachother is recommended. To span longer distances, the transceiver/powersupplies of the invention should be deployed midspan. If a networkcontains more than one gateway, multiple radio frequency (RF) channelsare available to designate bridges to specific gateways. Simplepush-button commands are used to start and join a device to a particularmesh network of the invention.

The wireless mesh network used in the lighting control system of theinvention is preferably a ZigBee® mesh network. A ZigBee® mesh networkis a wireless mesh networking standard characterized by low powerconsumption, support for multiple network structures, and secureconnections. The standard is regulated by a group known as the ZigBee®Alliance.

The lighting control system of the invention may be controlled by a userfour ways: through a local wall unit, through a nearby gateway device,at the host computer executing the Web-based control software, orremotely via access to the Web-based control software with a laptop orother computer, workstation, or handheld device. The simplest level ofuser control is via the wall unit. These single gang devices are locatedwithin a lighting control zone and provide the local user with theability to control the lighting in that zone. Turning the zone's lightson/off, adjusting the dimming level, or selecting one of four presetlighting profiles are available features on the various types of wallunits of the invention (described below).

FIGS. 1-3 show various configurations of lighting control zonesaccording to the invention. In FIG. 1, zone 100 includes occupancysensor 102, daylight sensor 104, manually-operated dimmer switch wallunit 106, manually-operated toggle switch wall unit 108, power pack 110,load 112, and load 114. Load 112 may be a light or other device withon/off functionality driven by a standard ballast, while load 114 may bea dimmable lighting device driven by a 0-10 VDC dimmable ballast. Notethat other types of loads may be controlled by the devices of zone 100.Daylight sensor 104 communicates with dimmable ballast 114 via lowvoltage Class 2 wiring C. Sensors 102 and 104 and wall units 106 and 108receive power from and are connected to power pack 110 via CAT-5 cablingA. Power pack 110 is also connected to a bridge (not shown) via CAT-5cabling A. Line voltage (e.g., 120/277/347 VAC) is connected to powerpack 110 via Class 1 wiring B. Power pack 110 has an integrated relaycontrolled by the sensors and wall units to connect/disconnect linevoltage to loads 112 and 114 also via Class 1 wiring B.

FIG. 2 illustrates a lighting control zone 200 that has only a singledevice, daylight sensor 204. Sensor 204 is connected to a bridge (notshown) via CAT-5 cabling A and to load 214, which has a dimmableballast, via low voltage Class 2 wiring C. Line voltage is connected tosensor 204 via Class 1 wiring B. Sensor 204 includes an integratedrelay, which is connected to loads 212 and 214 also via Class 1 wiringB. Daylight sensor 204 controls the on/off operation of load 212, whichmay be a lighting device driven by a standard ballast, and controls theon/off operation and dimming level of load 214, which may be a lightingdevice driven by a 0-10 VDC dimmable ballast.

FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a lighting control zone. Zone300 includes occupancy sensor 302, daylight sensor 304,manually-operated dimmer switch wall unit 306, manually-operated toggleswitch wall unit 308, power pack 310, loads 312 and 314, occupancysensor 316, and loads 318 and 320. Sensors 302 and 304 and wall units306 and 308 receive power from and are connected to power pack 310 viaCAT-5 cabling A. Power pack 310 also provides power and is connected tosensor 316 via CAT-5 cabling A. Occupancy sensor 316, which has anintegrated relay, is in turn connected to a bridge (not shown) via CAT-5cabling A. Line voltage is connected to power pack 310 via Class 1wiring B from a first electrical circuit, while line voltage from asecond electrical circuit is connected to sensor 316 also via Class 1wiring B. The relay output of power pack 310 is connected to loads 312and 314 via line voltage Class 1 wiring B, and the relay output ofsensor 316 is connected to loads 318 and 320 also via line voltage Class1 wiring B. Loads 314 and 320, which are dimmable lighting devicescontrolled by dimmable ballasts, receive dimming control signals via lowvoltage Class 2 wiring connected to dimmer switch wall unit 306. Withinzone 300, dimming control signals may originate from either dimmerswitch wall unit 306 or daylight sensor 304. The zone can be programmedsuch that any one or all of sensors 302, 304, and 316 and wall units 306and 308 can control any one or all of loads 312, 314, 318, and 320.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show two embodiments of wall units in accordance with theinvention. Manually-operated toggle switch wall unit 408 andmanually-operated dimmer switch wall unit 506 provide a user with localcontrol of a lighting zone. Each wall unit can operate with either lowvoltage or line voltage. A low voltage unit works with a power pack ofthe invention to provide toggle switch operation and/or dimmingadjustability of a 1-10 VDC dimmable lighting device. A line voltageunit provides the same switch operation and/or dimming adjustability asthe low voltage unit, but also includes an integrated relay enabling itto switch line voltage to a load (e.g., a lighting device). Line voltageunits also have reversible relay logic and interchangeable hot and loadwires for easy installation. The default operation of a wall unit is toact as a standard toggle switch. Additionally, the wall units canparticipate in the following advanced control modes: semi-automatic,manual to override on, manual to fully automatic, and predictive off.Wall units of the invention have two preferably RJ-45 connector ports(not shown), communicate with other devices via CAT-5 cabling connectedto their connectors ports, and are remotely configurable and upgradeablevia the lighting control software.

These single gang wall units use finger-touch controls 422, 424, and522, 524, and 526 instead of mechanical push-buttons or slides. Pressingtouch controls 422 and 522 turns on a serially connected load, whilepressing touch controls 424 and 524 turns off the serially connectedload. Pressing touch control 526, which is a dimmer control, on or nearup-arrow 526 a increases the light level of the serially connected load,while pressing touch control 526 on or near down-arrow 526 b decreasesthe light level of the serially connected load.

The finger-touch controls of the invention use a capacitive sensetechnology and, as shown in FIG. 6, are advantageously implemented withonly a single microcontroller (known finger-touch controls are typicallyimplemented with two processors each running special firmware, a firstprocessor scanning and decoding the electrical pad capacitance when afinger is sensed and the second processor reading and communicating thestate of the sensors). Finger-touch controls 600 includes touch controlpads 628, which is an array of flexboard sensors, microcontroller 630,which may be a Texas Instruments MSP430F2272, a voltage regulator 632,and a preferably EIA-485 transceiver 634 connected via the 2-wire serialbus to the RJ-45 connector ports. Resistor-based capacitive measurementsfrom touch control pads 628 are input to the microcontroller via thegeneral purpose I/O pins (GPIO). That is, the charge or dischargethrough a resistor of a capacitive sensor in control pads 628 ismeasured and processed by microcontroller 630. This approach reduces thecomplexity of the software and internal hardware of the microcontrollerand the hardware of the finger-touch controls.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart representing the software code developed to ensureproper operation of the finger-touch controls throughout a range ofdifferent conditions. Because wall units of the invention interface withballasts and, in some configurations, line voltage with internal relays,EMI (electromagnetic interference) and RF (radio frequency) interferencemay be radiated that affect the operation of the touch control circuit.Noise detection routine 700 detects and measures the amount of noise(e.g., EMI and RF interference) sensed from the flexboard circuit of thetouch control pads 628. The measured noise is then used to dynamicallyadjust the thresholds for real signal detection. During the calibrationprocess, the readings are registered as the initial baseline of thesystem. During normal operation, microcontroller 630 continuallymonitors the amount of noise and the baseline capacitance, adapting thesystem to different environmental conditions. This softwareadvantageously eliminates the need for hardware filters in the design.

At block 736, finger-touch controls 600 are initialized by detectingnoise and the baseline capacitance and accordingly calibrating touchcontrol pads 628. At block 738, touch control pads 628 are scanned tomeasure their capacitance. At block 740, the noise is calculated basedon the difference between the capacitance measurements and thecapacitance baseline. At block 742, the current noise is compared to thenoise baseline. If the current noise is below the threshold, a timer isreset at block 748. At block 749, the current measurements are used toupdate the baseline capacitance and baseline noise. If the current noiseis above the threshold, the state of the timer is checked at block 744.If the timer has expired, touch control pads 628 are recalibrated atblock 745. If the timer has not expired, the magnitude of the noise ofthe current pad is compared to that of the other pads at block 746. Ifthe noise magnitude of the current pad is the highest of all the pads,then that control pad 628 has been touched, and the associated action isprocessed at block 747 by microcontroller 630. At block 750, theremaining functionality of the device is handled, such as, for example,serial communication, settings, status, relay control, etc.

Wall units of the invention can also be configured with a wall switchsensor as shown in FIG. 8. This conveniently adds occupancy detection toa room with an existing toggle switch. In one embodiment, the occupancysensor can detect small motion up to about 20 feet away. These wallunits can communicate over the lighting backbone and can be daisy-chainwired via CAT-5 cabling to other devices in the zone. Wall unitoccupancy sensors may operate with line voltage or low voltage. Both lowand line voltage units include a manually-operable push button switch850, an occupancy sensor 852, and an LED (light emitting diode) 854 toindicate that the sensor is functioning. Occupancy sensor 852 can beprogrammed to operate with either passive infrared (PIR) detection orboth PIR and sound detection for rooms or areas with obstructions. (ThePIR and sound detection technology may be the same as that disclosed in,for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,117, which is hereby incorporated byreference). Line voltage units also include a relay and may be providedwith 2-pole operation. The 2-pole units include two relays and can beused for inboard/outboard switching applications and multi-levellighting control applications. That is, they can be used for “A-Bswitching” as follows: full on, only load A on, only load B on, or alloff. Separate time delays and switch functions can be programmed foreach pole, enabling almost countless configuration options. For example,one of these sensor units can be used to control a light and a fan, andthe sensor unit can be set to operate each with a different time delay.Also, these 2-pole units can handle applications with multiple loads andvoltages, such as, for example, a restroom with 277 VAC lighting and a120 VAC exhaust fan. The settings for each pole can be programmed eitherat the device or via the lighting control software either at the hostcomputer or a computer or handheld device with remote access to the LAN.The line voltage wall switch sensor unit may optionally include a nightlight, which is preferably a white LED integrated with push buttonswitch 850. The default operational mode of the night light wall switchsensor unit is preferably manual on to semi-automatic. The defaultoperational mode of the other wall switch sensor units is preferablyfully automatic (automatic on/automatic off). The wall switch sensorunits can be programmed (or reprogrammed) locally via the front pushbutton switch 850, a gateway, or remotely via the lighting controlsoftware to operate in any of the other advanced modes described above.

In sum, combinations of wall units can be used together to createlighting control zones with multiple switching locations andfunctionalities.

In addition to the wall switch sensor units, the lighting control systemof the invention includes several other types of occupancy sensors withdifferent sensing capabilities to provide occupancy detection for roomsand areas having a wide variety of characteristics and configurations.The different types include ceiling mounted 360° sensors for placementin areas such as private offices, vestibules, or small rooms. In oneembodiment, the sensor provides about 12 ft of radial coverage whenmounted to a standard 9 ft ceiling. Sound can be detected up to about 20ft and more in spaces with hard floors or low background noise. Othertypes of occupancy sensors include ceiling mounted extended range 360°sensors for placement in large rooms or areas: high bay 360° sensors forplacement in areas with high ceilings such as warehouses, racquetballcourts, and gymnasiums: corner or ceiling mounted wide view sensors forplacement in areas such as classrooms; and wall or ceiling mountedhallway sensors for placement in long narrow areas such as hallways orcorridors. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,215,398 and 6,304,180 each discloseoccupancy sensing technologies that may be used by the occupancy sensorsof the invention and are thus hereby incorporated by reference.

All occupancy sensors of the invention have integrated microcontrollersand firmware, two preferably RJ-45 connector ports, the ability tocommunicate over the network backbone, and the ability to operate withPIR detection technology alone or both PIR and sound detectiontechnology. Occupancy sensors can be connected to other devices such aspower packs, wall units, and daylight sensors in a daisy-chain mannerusing CAT-5 cabling, and are available in low voltage and line voltageembodiments. Low voltage sensors do not have a relay and thus send theirinformation to relays located elsewhere within the zone, while linevoltage sensors have an integrated relay that they can control.Advantageously, the integrated relay in a line voltage sensor is notrequired to switch its zone's lighting, but can instead be used as asignal relay to another system. Multiple occupancy sensors can be usedin the same zone to provide coverage for oddly shaped rooms or largeopen areas. Each occupancy sensor can be programmed either locally via apush button on each sensor or remotely via the lighting controlsoftware.

Occupancy sensors of the invention provide either a single level oflighting control or two independent levels of lighting control via2-pole embodiments of the sensors. For example, overhead lights may becontrolled by the first pole of a sensor, while an exhaust fan may becontrolled by the second pole. Each pole can be given its own timedelay. Thus, continuing with the lights and fan example, the lights canbe set to turn off 10 minutes after the last person leaves, while theexhaust fan can be set to continue running for 20 minutes after the lastperson leaves. Also, if a fan is shared between two restrooms,installing a 2-pole sensor in each restroom with the second poles wiredin parallel will cause the fan to turn on if either room is occupied.Multi-level lighting control is also possible with 2-pole sensors. Forexample, a first group of lights can be controlled by the first pole anda second group of lights can be controlled by the second pole. Fourlighting levels are thus possible: all lights on, only the first groupon, only the second group on, and all lights off.

The lighting control system of the invention also provides daylightsensors to provide intelligent control of lighting in defined areas withwindows, such as, for example, vestibules, corridors, classrooms, oroffices, that receive sufficient daylight such that a lighting devicecan be turned off or at least dimmed. Daylight sensors monitor daylightconditions via a photocell and can control one or more lighting devicesto ensure that adequate lighting levels are maintained. Daylight sensorsof the invention have an integrated microcontroller with firmware andthus do not need a separate control unit. Daylight sensors operate usinga single set-point with automatic set-point programming that requiresonly one installation visit. Calibration can be done at any time of theday. Daylight sensors automatically adapt to changes in room lightingconditions (e.g., lamp aging or burn out) and determine the amountdaylight present. Daylight sensors of the invention can communicate overthe network backbone and can be daisy-chain wired within a lightingcontrol zone via CAT-5 cabling to other devices of the invention such aspower packs, wall units, and occupancy sensors. Once linked to agateway, the sensor can be remotely monitored, upgraded, and controlledvia the lighting control software. Embodiments include low voltagedaylight sensors that do not have internal relays and accordingly sendtheir information to relays located elsewhere within the zone, and linevoltage daylight sensors that have a relay integrated within the sensorthat they can control. Daylight sensors of the invention may provideon/off functionality, dimming functionality, or both, as illustrated inFIGS. 9A-C. To provide on/off functionality, daylight sensors controlrelays to connect/disconnect line voltage to one or more lightingdevices. To provide dimming functionality, daylight sensors control 0-10VDC dimmable ballasts of lighting devices by issuing dimming commands tothe ballasts over low voltage wiring. Daylight sensors are 2-poledevices (but alternatively can be single pole) that have a second outputto separately control an additional load or a second group of lightingdevices in the lighting control zone. The set point for the secondoutput can be a percentage of the first pole's set-point. Also, a second0-10 VDC dimmable ballast can be controlled by the second output at aselected daylight level higher than that used for a first 0-10 VDCdimmable ballast controlled by the first output. The sensor determinesthe necessary on/off combination of the two poles in order to maintainadequate lighting.

Daylight sensors can be used with occupancy sensors to achieve evengreater energy savings. In one embodiment, lighting control decisionsare made using occupancy as the primary factor and daylight as thesecondary factor, as shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 shows a basic hardware configuration of both occupancy anddaylight sensors according to the invention. Sensor 1100 includes amicrocontroller 1130, voltage regulators 1131 and 1132, transceiver 134,push button 1150, PIR detector 1151, sound detector (microphone) 1152,daylight detector (photocell) 1153, LED 1154, connector ports 1156 a and1156 b, reset chip 1158, H-bridges #1 and #2, relays #1 and #2, anddimming outputs #1 and #2. Reset chip 1158 monitors the preferably 3.3volts from regulator 1132 and disables the microcontroller via a resetpin if the voltage falls below a set level, such as, for example, 2.8volts. This prevents the microcontroller from possibly malfunctioning orlocking up should its input voltage drop below a certain level. TheH-bridges provide the sensors with reversible relay logic. That is, theH-bridges are circuits that allow current to pass in either direction(i.e., either polarity) through the relay coil to allow the rely to bethrown in either direction. Microcontroller 1130 is preferably a TexasInstruments MSP430F2272, transceiver 1134 is preferably an RS-485 AnalogDevices ADM3493, and reset chip 1158 is preferably a TelComSemiconductor TC54VN27 voltage detector. Note that the variousembodiments of the sensors described above may not have all of thesensing and output components shown in FIG. 11. For example, somesensors may have no relays or only one relay. Other sensors may have nodimming output or only one dimming output. While still other sensors maynot have daylight detector (photocell) 1153, and others may not have PIRdetector 1151 and/or sound detector (microphone) 1152.

Power packs of the invention include a transformer and a relay toprovide two important functions to the lighting control system:supplying power to other devices and switching lighting loads. FIGS. 12and 13 show a power pack 1210 in accordance with the invention. Powerpack 1210 has housing 1260, two preferably RJ-45 connector ports 1256a,b that can be daisy-chain wired using CAT-5 cabling to other devices(e.g., sensors and/or wall units) to form a lighting control zone, andtwo LED indicators 1254 a,b to indicate connector functionality. Forsimplifying installation, power packs also have an elongated chasenipple 1262 that allows them to be attached either directly through a ½″knockout into a junction box, or inside an adjacent box for meetingspecific local code requirements in ceiling plenums. Line voltage Class1 wiring B is received through chase nipple 1262. To provide systempower, transformer 1364 transforms Class 1 line voltage (120/277/347VAC) to Class 2 15 VDC. The power provided by a power pack enables alighting control zone to operate independently of the lighting controlsoftware or connection to any other device outside the zone. Forswitching a lighting load, an internal preferably 16A latching relay1366 is used. Power packs, like other devices of the invention, have amicrocontroller 1330 and transceiver 1334 for communicating over thenetwork backbone of the invention. Power pack 1210 also includes afull-wave rectifier 1368, current limiter #1, current limiter #2,voltage regulators 1331 and 1332, reset chip 1358, H-bridge 1370, andrelay sensor 1372. Microcontroller 1330 is preferably a TexasInstruments MSP430F2272, transceiver 1334 is preferably an RS-485 AnalogDevices ADM3493, and reset chip 1358 is preferably a TelComSemiconductor TC54VN27 voltage detector.

A power pack's transformer supplies up to 40 mA of current (i.e.,“power”) to each of its two RJ-45 ports for distribution to a lightingcontrol zone and beyond. Because sensors and other devices within alighting control zone typically require less then 2 mA each, a powerpack can usually power its entire control zone with power to spare. Theremaining power is made available over the network to other zones anddevices (e.g., bridges and gateways).

Power packs can be remotely configured and upgraded (i.e., theirfirmware) and are push-button programmable via push button 1250. Thelighting control software can program settings for each power packindividually. Operational settings for power packs include overridelights on or off; track/ignore occupancy sensors, manual switches,and/or daylight sensors; and occupancy, daylight, or switch sourcechannel designation. By factory default, power packs are configured torespond to all occupancy, photocell, and switch commands arriving onchannel 1, but can be reconfigured to respond to either channel 1 orchannel 2 via their source channel setting. Power packs can alsoparticipate in the following advanced control modes: manual on tosemi-automatic, manual on to fully automatic, manual on to override on,and predictive off.

A modified embodiment of the power pack is the slave pack. A slave packincludes the same switching relay as the power pack, but does not have atransformer. Thus, it can switch line voltage to and from a load via therelay, but only receives and distributes power via CAT-5 cabling throughits RJ-45 connector ports. The housing and other external features ofthe slave pack are identical to power pack 1210. Slave packs, like otherdevices of the invention, also have a microcontroller and transceiverfor communicating over the network backbone of the invention.

Another related device of the invention is the auxiliary relay pack. Anauxiliary relay pack provides switching of low voltages primarily forinterfacing with devices or control systems outside the invention. Inone embodiment, the auxiliary relay pack has a rated switching load of1A at 40 VAC/VDC. The housing and other external features of theauxiliary pack are identical to power pack 1210. Auxiliary packs, likeother devices of the invention, have a microcontroller, transceiver, andtwo preferably RJ-45 connector ports for communicating over the networkbackbone of the invention.

The lighting control system also includes a power supply unit thatsupplies power to the devices of the system. Power supplies havetransformers but, unlike power packs, do not have relays. One embodimentof the power supply has two preferably RJ-45 ports and makes its poweravailable to other devices via CAT-5 cabling. Another embodiment of thepower supply connects directly to terminal inputs on a bridge or gatewayvia Class 2 wiring. Both embodiments supply up to 150 mA at 15 VDC. Thehousings and external features of the two power supply embodiments areidentical or substantially similar to those of power pack 1210. Forexample, both embodiments have a chase nipple for simplifyinginstallation. These power supply devices do not, however, communicatewith any other devices or the lighting control software.

The lighting control system of the invention also includes atransceiver/power supply that provides a wireless access point for agateway or a lighting control zone that cannot be directly wired into abridge. The transceiver/power supply also provides system power bytransforming Class 1 line voltage (120/277/347 VAC) to Class 2 15 VDC.Both power and communication are supplied via the unit's two preferablyRJ-45 connector ports, which can be used to connect to other devices viaCAT-5 cabling. The housing and other external features of thetransceiver/power supply are identical to power pack 1210. For example,the transceiver/power supply is also push-button programmable and hasLED status indicators. In one embodiment, the transceiver/power supplysupplies up to 250 mA of current. When wired to a gateway, this amountmeets the 60-80 mA requirement of one embodiment of the gateway andprovides the remaining 170-190 mA to other devices and/or zones. Whenwired to a lighting control zone, sufficient power for the entire zoneis easily provided by this unit, as each zone device typically requires2 mA or less. The transceiver/power supply operates wirelessly at 2.4GHz and preferably is capable of joining and participating with othertransceiver/power supplies and wireless bridges of the invention in aZigBee® wireless mesh network. If the transceiver/power supply's RJ-45ports are not wired to a gateway or lighting control zone, the unit willcontinue to participate in the mesh network as a stand-alone wireless“repeater.” This feature is used to span long hops between otherwireless devices of the invention.

FIG. 14 shows a hardware embodiment of a transceiver/power supply inaccordance with the invention. Transceiver/power supply 1400 includes afull wave rectifier 1468, line filter 1474, and flyback regulator 1476.Full wave rectifier 1468 receives line voltage and has a standardarrangement of power diodes to convert an AC (sinusoidal) input waveformto an all positive signal waveform. Rectifier 1468 also has a capacitorto store converted DC power. The stored DC voltage is typically 169 VDC(for 120 VAC), 391 VDC (for 277 VAC) and 490 VDC (for 347 VAC). Linefilter 1474 includes a common mode choke (e.g., a J W Miller 7346-V-RC)and several line voltage ceramic capacitors arranged to form a pifilter. This filter ensures compliance with FCC conducted emissionslimits. Because transceiver/power supply 1400 uses high frequencies,filter 1474 ensures that the supply power line is not impaired withtransients that could potentially cause other devices using the samesupply to become inoperative. Flyback regulator 1476 includes aswitching regulator integrated circuit (e.g., ON Semiconductor NCP1011),custom magnetic transformer, high speed switching diodes, and storagecapacitors. The selected switching regulator uses a switching frequencyof approximately 65 kHz. Because of the operating frequency of theregulator, the physical size of the transformer is only about 20% ofthat required by 50/60 Hz transformers.

Transceiver/power supply 1400 also includes current limiter 1478, linearvoltage regulators 1431 and 1432, system clock and driver 1480,microcontroller 1430, wireless chipset 1482, which is preferably ZigBee®chipset EM250, storage 1484, harmonic filter 1486, balun network 1488,two preferably RJ-45 connector ports 1456 a,b, two transceivers 1434a,b, and two port controllers 1490 a,b. In one embodiment, currentlimiter 1478 allows a total of 250 mA to be shared between the twoconnector ports 1456 a,b. Communication between transceivers 1434 a,band port controllers 1490 a,b preferably adheres to the RS-232 standardfor serial binary data signals. The transceivers are preferably RS-485National Semiconductor Corporation DS36C278 transceivers, portcontrollers 1490 a,b are preferably Silicon Laboratories 8051F305microcontrollers, and microcontroller 1430 is preferably a SiliconLaboratories 8051F346 microcontroller. Wireless chipset 1482, harmonicfilter 1486, and balun network 1488 represent the circuitry for wirelesscommunication to and from the transceiver/power supply 1400. Data istransmitted at preferably 2.4 GHz and adheres to preferably the IEEE802.15.4 wireless low data rate PAN (personal area network) standard.The digital modulation technique for transmitting digital data ispreferably O-QPSK (offset quadrature phase shifting key).

Bridges of the invention are integral components of the networkbackbone. They increase the number of lighting control zones that can beconnected to the system and act as a hub by aggregating traffic fromconnected downstream lighting control zones and placing that trafficonto the backbone. Bridges also act as routers by forwarding informationfrom the backbone to the applicable downstream zones. In particular,bridges route data packets received from either a gateway, the lightingcontrol software via a gateway, or a scene controller wall unit(described below) to their final destination. Using a proprietaryprotocol that includes destination and source addresses, a bridge willpass a data packet received on its upstream port to a device connectedon a downstream port or to another bridge if the destination device isnot directly connected to this bridge. Because the packet is repeated onthe downstream port, signal integrity is reaffirmed. Also, the bridgewill check for an outbound packet generated by a device (such as thescene controller wall unit) and will route that packet where it needs togo. Bridges respond to packets addressed to them, just like otherdevices. Some examples of the information a bridge would transmit in aresponse packet are name, product code, date code, software #, firmwareupdate, and microcontroller information such as the number of reboots,the number of saves to memory, or the voltage of the microcontroller.Bridges also individually poll each connected device for status and mayreceive a packet which contains, for example, time delay remaining,photocell reading, switch exertion, etc. This status is made known toevery other device in the zone. Devices use this information to controltheir individual outputs (i.e., relay or dimming level). Note, however,only devices within the same lighting control zone receive each other'spolling status response.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show embodiments of a bridge in accordance with theinvention. Bridge 1500 has two mounting screw holes 1592 for convenientmounting directly onto a common 4″×4″ electrical junction box. Bridge1500 also has eight preferably RJ-45 connector ports 1556 a-h into whichlighting control zones of daisy-chain wired devices of the invention canbe connected via CAT-5 cabling. Each connector port can connect to onelighting control zone. That is, one port per zone. Thus, a bridge candirectly connect to at most eight lighting control zones. Each connectorport has an associated LED indicator to show communication activity,which means, for example, that a zone connected to a port is up andrunning. This quickly points out CAT-5 wiring mistakes that may havebeen made on installation and shows if a device is short circuited. Notethat only LED indicators 1554 a-d are shown in FIG. 15. The bridge alsocan be connected to another bridge or to a gateway via CAT-5 cablingthough one of its connector ports. Alternatively, bridge 1500, whichincludes antenna 1594, can be linked wirelessly to other bridges 1500 orgateways via its RF (radio frequency) wireless communication capability.The wireless communication preferably adheres to the ZigBee® meshnetwork protocol, and in one embodiment, bridges transmit at 2.4 GHz.

As shown in FIG. 16, bridge 1500 includes a full wave rectifier 1668,which in one embodiment receives either 12-24 VAC or 15-34 VDC;switching regulator 1676; linear regulator 1632; system clock and driver1680; microcontroller 1630; wireless chipset 1682, which is preferablyZigBee® chipset EM250; storage 1684; harmonic filter 1686; balun network1688; eight preferably RJ-45 connector ports 1656 (note only two areshown, ports 1656 a,h); eight current limiters 1678 (note only two areshown, limiters 1678 a,h); eight transceivers 1634 (note only two areshown, transceivers 1634 a,h); and eight port controllers 1690 (noteonly two are shown, controllers 1690 a,h). Communication between thetransceivers 1634 and port controllers 1690 preferably adheres to theRS-232 standard for serial binary data signals. The transceivers arepreferably RS-485 National Semiconductor Corporation DS36C278transceivers, port controllers 1690 are preferably Silicon Laboratories8051F305 microcontrollers, and microcontroller 1630 is preferably aSilicon Laboratories 8051F340 microcontroller. Wireless chipset 1682,harmonic filter 1686, and balun network 1688 represent the circuitry forwireless communication to and from bridge 1500. Data is transmitted atpreferably 2.4 GHz and adheres to preferably the IEEE 802.15.4 wirelesslow data rate PAN (personal area network) standard. The digitalmodulation technique for transmitting digital data is preferably O-QPSK(offset quadrature phase shifting key).

Bridge 1500 has a push button 1550 to activate the self-commissioningprocess, wherein the bridge automatically discovers and stores theunique serial number of each device attached to it. In one embodiment, abridge is capable of storing 128 devices per port, for a maximum totalof 1,024 devices (i.e., 8 ports×128 devices=1024 devices). If more than128 devices are connected on a port, the remainder will be ignored. Thebridge sends the collected serial numbers to a gateway for use with thelighting control software. This data packet may also include thebridge's serial number and the connector port number to which eachdevice is connected. With this information, the lighting controlsoftware can display a device tree that shows how all the devices areconnected in the entire system. A bridge also detects if a device stopsresponding and thus needs to be deleted from a gateway's list. If adevice fails to respond to a certain number of polls, it is deleted frommemory and a packet is sent to the gateway. A device would fail torespond if it is malfunctioning or its CAT-5 cabling is cut or unpluggedfrom a connector port.

FIG. 17 shows a second hardware embodiment of a bridge, which isidentical to bridge 1500 except that it does not have wirelesscommunication capability. Thus, bridge 1700 does not have an antenna orcircuitry for wireless communication (i.e., no wireless chipset,harmonic filter, and balun network). Bridge 1700 does, however, have allthe other functions and features as bridge 1500 and includes a full waverectifier 1768, which in one embodiment receives either 12-24 VAC or15-34 VDC; switching regulator 1776; linear regulator 1732; system clockand driver 1780; microcontroller 1730; eight preferably RJ-45 connectorports 1756 (note only two are shown, ports 1756 a,h); eight currentlimiters 1778 (note only two are shown, limiters 1778 a,h); eighttransceivers 1734 (note only two are shown, transceivers 1734 a,h); andeight port controllers 1790 (note only two are shown, controllers 1790a,h). Communication between transceivers 1734 and port controllers 1790preferably adheres to the RS-232 standard for serial binary datasignals. The transceivers are preferably RS-485 National SemiconductorCorporation DS36C278 transceivers, port controllers 1790 are preferablySilicon Laboratories 8051F305 microcontrollers, and microcontroller 1730is preferably a Silicon Laboratories 8051F340 microcontroller.

FIG. 18 shows a representative network configuration of bridges and agateway in accordance with the invention. In a first branch of network1800, bridge 1700 a connects to seven lighting control zones and tobridge 1700 b via CAT-5 cabling. Bridge 1700 b in turn connects to sixlighting control zones and to gateway 1801 via CAT-5 cabling. In asecond branch of network 1800, bridge 1700 c connects to seven lightingcontrol zones and to bridge 1500 a via CAT-5 cabling. Bridge 1500 aconnects to seven lighting control zones via CAT-5 cabling and to bridge1500 b via wireless communication. Bridge 1500 b in turn connects toeight lighting control zones via CAT-5 cabling and to gateway 1801 viawireless communication to either a wireless transceiver/power supply orother wireless bridge (neither shown) wired to gateway 1801. Thus inthis embodiment, five bridges, two with wireless communicationcapability, advantageously connect 38 lighting control zones to thenetwork backbone of the invention.

All device and communication power is delivered via the CAT-5 bus thatinterconnects zones and bridges. Power to the bus is supplied from powerpacks, power supplies, and/or bridges. In one embodiment, power suppliesdeliver about 150 mA, while power packs provide 40 mA from each of theirtwo connector ports (80 mA total). Devices in a lighting control zone(e.g., sensors, wall units, slave packs, etc.) typically consume about 2mA each. Thus, a power pack or power supply can often power more than asingle lighting control zone, and each bridge embodiment canadvantageously combine system power from lighting control zones that arenet contributors of power (i.e., those with more than enough downstreampower packs and power supplies) and distribute that power to lightingcontrol zones that are net consumers of power (i.e., those with lessthan enough or no power packs or power supplies). This powerdistribution methodology advantageously allows lighting control zoneswith power packs or power supplies to run independently withoutconnection to a gateway or bridge. Moreover, lighting control zoneswithout power packs or power supplies can still function independentlyprovided they are connected to a bridge.

There are two methods of directly powering a bridge: connecting thebridge's terminal connectors 1596 located on the side of the bridgehousing to a power supply of the invention via Class 2 wiring, orconnecting one of the bridge's connector ports to either a power supplyor a power pack of the invention via CAT-5 cabling. While directlyconnecting a power supply or power pack to a bridge is recommended,power can also be supplied from a power pack or power supply locatedelsewhere in the network. In one embodiment of the invention, bridgeswith wireless communication capability require about 90 mA, while thosewith only wired connection capability require about 60 mA. Powersupplies of the invention can deliver about 150 mA. Excess current up toabout 80 mA from a directly connected power supply can be distributedvia the bridge's connector ports 1556, which in one embodiment islimited to a maximum of about 40 mA per port. Current limiters 1678ensure that the current drawn from a port does not exceed the maximumamount. Demand for more current from a connector port results in avoltage decrease in order to maintain the current limit. Bridges alsomonitor the voltage on the CAT-5 cabling and send that information tothe lighting control software. If voltage is too low (below 14 volts inone embodiment), the software indicates that more power packs or powersupplies are needed in the system. Note that with respect to powerdistribution, a bridge has the same functionality as thetransceiver/power supply except the transceiver/power supply is limitedto two connector ports and has its own power supply.

FIG. 19 shows an example of power distribution in a lighting controlsystem of the invention. Bridge 1700 is powered by a power supply 1911,which supplies about 150 mA to the bridge and is connected directly tothe bridge's terminal connectors 1996 via Class 2 wiring. Of thatamount, 80 mA are available for distribution. Power pack 1910 a supplies40 mA from one of its two ports to bridge 1700 via connection to one ofthe bridge's eight connector ports 1956, and supplies 40 mA to a firstlighting control zone from the other port. A second power supply 1911X,which delivers power via CAT-5 cabling, provides 50 mA to a secondlighting control zone and the remaining 100 mA of its total 150 mAoutput to bridge 1700 via connection to a second of the bridge's eightconnector ports 1956. A second power pack 1910 b provides 40 mA to thedownstream devices of a third lighting control zone and provides 40 mAto upstream sensor 1902. Sensor 1902 consumes about 2 mA, delivering theremaining 38 mA to the bridge at a third bridge connector port 1956 fordistribution to other devices and zones. In sum, bridge 1700 receives anadditional 258 mA beyond its own needs, of which 200 mA total can bedistributed to downstream lighting control zones and/or other bridges ora gateway via the five available connector ports 1956. If a bridge hasless than the maximum amount of current per connector port available todistribute, the bridge divides the available current equally among itsdownstream connector ports and accordingly reduces the voltage at thoseports (current=voltage divided by resistance).

FIGS. 20A and B show the front and back panels of a gateway,respectively, in accordance with the invention. Gateways are part of thenetwork backbone (along with bridges) that interconnect all lightingzones. Through the gateway, information running over the backbone islinked to the preferably Ethernet LAN where the host server resides, andbackbone communication preferably adheres to standard Ethernet andTCP/IP communication protocols. The gateway communicates over thenetwork backbone using CAT-5 wiring to any bridge, or by using atransceiver/power supply of the invention to establish a wirelessconnection to a wireless bridge. A gateway is a 2-gang low voltage wallunit that has four screw holes 2027 a-d for mounting to a 2-gangjunction box. A gateway acts as both a local control device and as thecommunication access point for the lighting control software.

Gateway front panel 2021A has a display screen 2023, which is preferablya backlit LCD (liquid crystal display) screen, and finger-touch controls2025, which may alternatively be a conventional keypad. Back panel 2021Bhas a LAN connector port 2029, which is preferably a 10/100BaseTEthernet port. LAN connector port 2029 is assigned an IP (InternetProtocol) address on the building's LAN where the lighting controlsoftware is located. This IP address can be fixed or assigneddynamically using DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). Back panel2021B also has three preferably RJ-45 connector ports 2056 a-c forconnection to any downstream bridge or lighting control zone via CAT-5cabling. In one embodiment of the invention, a gateway can support up to32 devices without a bridge. Overall, an embodiment of a gateway cansupport up to 400 downstream devices connected to it.

There are two methods of powering a gateway. A gateway may be poweredover a CAT-5 connection to one of connector ports 2056 a-c from either apower supply, power pack, or transceiver/power supply of the invention.While it is preferred that the power supply, power pack, ortransceiver/power supply be connected directly to one of the RJ-45connector ports, these devices may be located elsewhere in the network.A gateway may also be powered with a power supply of the invention overClass 2 wiring connected to power terminal connector 2096 on back panel2021B of the gateway. In one embodiment of the invention, the gatewayconsumes about 80 mA.

A gateway functions as an autonomous scheduler using an internalreal-time clock. A gateway stores information called “lighting controlprofiles,” which include settings that will be applied at a particulartime or date to a group of devices connected to the gateway. Alllighting control profiles are created in the lighting control software(described in more detail below) and are stored within the gateway. Onceprogrammed with one or more profiles, a gateway can operateindependently of the lighting control software. Using its onboard timeclock, a gateway sends out the settings specified in the profiles to theappropriate downstream devices according to a defined schedule. Lightingcontrol profiles can also be selected and run on-demand from a gateway.

A gateway also provides a local user interface for accessing any of thedownstream devices connected to it. Using display screen 2023 andfinger-touch controls 2025, users can navigate a gateway's menu-driveninterface to view status and configuration information about anydownstream device. FIG. 21 shows an embodiment of a gateway menuinterface accessible via the display screen and finger-touch controls.Access to the system via a gateway preferably requires a 4-digit pincode, and device inventory and status information can be displayed at agateway.

FIG. 22 shows a hardware embodiment of a gateway in accordance with theinvention. Gateway 1801 includes a microprocessor 2230, a memory boardcontaining memory devices 2231, 2233, and 2235, CPU clock 2237, LANclock 2239, LAN transceiver 2241A,B, three transceivers 2234 a-c,switching voltage regulator 2276, display/driver 2223, and signalmicrocontroller 2243.

Microprocessor 2230 is preferably an 8-bit Rabbit 3000 microprocessorfrom Rabbit Semiconductor. In one embodiment of the invention, themicroprocessor configuration is implemented using Rabbit's RCM3305 coremodule reference design. Microprocessor 2230 preferably has 44 MHz clockspeed; hardware and/or software support for TCP/IP, IrDA, SDLC/HDLC,Async, SPI, and I2C; 56+ digital I/O; 6 serial ports; and operates at1.8-3.6 volts (5 volt tolerant I/O). Microprocessor 2230 communicateswith external memory devices 2231, 2233, and 2235 via a paralleldata/address bus. This interface is also used to communicate withinternal registers and buffers of LAN transceiver 2241A,B. Theapplication code executed by one embodiment of the microprocessorimplements Rabbit's embedded TCP/IP stack software. This softwarecomprises API calls and hardware drivers to implement most TCP/IPprotocols, such as, for example, TCP, UDP, HTTP, etc. This allows thegateway to interface with an IP network and communicate with thelighting control software using standard protocols over a preferably10/100 Ethernet network. Microprocessor 2230 executes application codefrom the memory devices and controls all communication peripherals.

Memory device 2231 is preferably a 512 KB flash memory, which is a typeof nonvolatile memory. Memory 2231 is divided into two blocks, 300 KBfor program memory, where the actual application code and gatewayconfiguration block parameters are stored, and 210 KB for lightingcontrol profile data storage. The gateway configuration block is an areareserved for configuration parameters such as gateway serial number,Ethernet MAC address, etc. This area is initialized during manufacture.Memory 2231 may be a Silicon Storage Technology SST39VF040.

Memory device 2233 is preferably a 512 KB FSRAM (fast static randomaccess memory). This memory is used by the application code and stacksoftware for variables and communication buffers. The Rabbit TCP/IPStack software allocates variables in this memory to manage and storeinformation received from the LAN transceiver and other communicationperipherals. Memory 2233 may be an Alliance Semiconductor AS7C34096.

Memory device 2235 is preferably a 512 KB SRAM (static random accessmemory). The application code allocates space in this memory forlighting control profile schedules and settings tables. Profile datainformation is retrieved from memory 2231 and loaded into structuresdefined in this memory area for fast execution. This memory area is alsoused for structures that contain all device information discoveredduring self-commissioning (described below). Memory 2235 may be anIntegrated Silicon Solutions, Inc. IS62WV5128.

CPU clock 2237 includes a main CPU oscillator (22.12 MHz) and areal-time clock oscillator (32.768 KHz). The CPU clock is multipliedinternally for an operational frequency of 44 MHz, and the real-timeclock circuitry is external to the processor and provides an initialclock for serial programming as well as the reference to an internalclock for calendar and profile scheduling. LAN clock 2239 is preferablyan Ethernet driver oscillator (25 MHz). These clocks are all individualcircuits that provide each module with their respective operationalfrequency.

LAN transceiver 2241A,B is preferably a 10/100 Ethernet MAC/PHY (mediaaccess control/physical layer) driver and associated magnetics,respectively. This device allows microprocessor 2230 to communicate overthe LAN using a standard IEEE 802.3 Ethernet protocol. Themicroprocessor TCP/IP stack software implements the higher levelprotocols for TCP/IP communication. The lighting control softwarecommunicates to the gateway using UDP, TCP, HTTP protocols. LANtransceiver 2241A is preferably an AX88796LF local bus fast Ethernetcontroller by ASIX Electronics Corporation, and LAN transceiver 2241B isa high speed LAN magnetics isolation module, which may be aTG1100-S050N2 by HALO Electronics, Inc.

Transceivers 2234 a-c are preferably EIA 485 transceivers coupledrespectively to connector ports 2056 a-c. Using three UARTs frommicroprocessor 2230, the gateway can interface with the lighting controlzones and devices connected to the three connector ports. Each connectorport connection preferably operates in half-duplex, 2-wire mode at 115.2Kbps. Microprocessor 2230 controls these ports and the read/write datapackets used to communicate with connected devices.

Switching regulator 2276 is a DC/DC step-down switching regulator, whichmay be a Linear Technology LT1776. In one embodiment, this circuitconverts a DC input voltage of 12V-50V to about 3.3V output with 500 mAcurrent. All the electronic components in gateway 1801 are powered viathis regulator.

Display/driver 2223 is an LCD (liquid crystal display) driver displaythat may be implemented using Desintron F-STN positive display DV5520BB(132 W×64H pixels). Microprocessor 2230 communicates with the displaydriver, which in one embodiment is integrated with the glass screen ofthe LCD, by sending data and commands using an SPI serial communicationinterface. This display/driver provides a user interface that displays anumber of menus and options (see FIG. 21) that show information andstatus of the devices connected to the gateway, as well as the currentstatus of the Ethernet and gateway configuration parameters.

Gateways implement finger-touch controls of the invention as describedabove with respect to the wall units. Display/driver 2223 includes aflexboard circuit laid out in a special pattern to recognize fourfinger-touch controls: up 2025 a, down 2025 b, right (enter) 2025 c, andleft (escape) 2025 d. Signal microcontroller 2243 has specializedhardware and software that measures capacitance from an array of sensorsin the flexboard circuit, and is preferably a Programmable System on aChip (PSoC) from Cypress Semiconductor. When a user touches one of thefinger-touch controls 2025 a-d, the difference in capacitance ismeasured by microcontroller 2243 and filtered from any noise.Microprocessor 2230 polls microcontroller 2243 through the I2Ccommunication bus, checks for any key presses, and then performs anddisplays the respective action on display screen 2023.

In accordance with the invention, the most powerful way of controllingthe lighting control system is through the Web-based lighting controlsoftware. The control software provides complete system administrationvia a tabbed graphical interface. The control software features anetwork device tree and three primary pages: information, groups, andprofiles. The information page provides individual device information,such as, for example, properties, setting, and status information. Thegroup and profile pages provide the ability to create lighting controlprofiles, apply them to particular lighting zones, and schedule theirimplementation. The control software requires a single installation ontoa host computer/server. Multiple users can access the software via astandard Web browser with network access to the host computer. Each usercan be required to login to the system with a user name and password andcan be assigned varying degrees of system access. Communication betweenthe gateways and the control software is preferably encrypted.

In one embodiment of the invention, the host computer preferably has a133 MHz-1.2 GHz processor, 128-512 MB RAM, and 2-30 GB hard drive. TheWeb browser is either Internet Explorer 7.0 by Microsoft Corporation ofRedmond, Wash., or preferably Mozilla Firefox® 2.0.0.6 by MozillaCorporation of Mountain View, Calif. The operating system is eitherMicrosoft's Windows® Server 2000 or preferably Windows Server 2003, andthe software requirements are Microsoft's IIS (Internet InformationServices) 5.0 or 6.0, NET 2.0 or higher (the Microsoft .NET Framework isa software component that is part of the Microsoft Windows operatingsystem).

FIG. 23 illustrates the structure of the lighting control software inaccordance with the invention. Network/physical layer 2371 communicateswith a gateway 2301 via UDP messages or TCP messages. When informationneeds to be sent to or retrieved from a device, a message is sent to thegateway, which in turn forwards the message to the device and returnsthe response back to this layer. Application layer 2373 is a group offunctions that handles data manipulation to and from the API(application programming interface) functions, to and from thenetwork/physical layer, and to and from the database. These functionshandle tasks such as storing and retrieving group information, storingand retrieving profile and schedule information, and forming requestsfor information from a gateway or device. This layer also containsfunctions for upgrading devices, gateways, and the lighting controlsoftware itself. Database layer 2375 is a suite of functionsspecifically designed to write and read data to and from databasetables. Formatting of data for storage in the database is also handledhere. API layer 2377 contains functions called by user graphicalinterface layer 2379. These functions retrieve information from thelayers below and pass that information up to user interface layer 2379for display to the user. The information is formatted appropriately asrequired by user interface 2379.

FIGS. 24A-K show various screen displays of the lighting controlsoftware in accordance with the invention. The information page displaysa device's current settings and operational status and allowsmodifications of those settings. The information page is divided intothree tabs that provide individual device properties, settings, andstatus information, respectively. The properties tab of the informationpage presents device identification information and allows custom namingby a user. The information presented may include model number of thedevice, a device identification number, a short description, a datecode, and space for user comments. The settings tab of the informationpage displays the settings of, for example, a particular 2-pole sensordevice. The display may show settings for each pole including, forexample, sensor time delay, sensitivity level of sound detectionsensing, and enablement/disablement of override, broadcast channel,source channel, and tracking settings. The status tab of the informationpage displays status information about a particular device. The statusis continuously updated and may indicate whether occupancy is detected,whether passive-infrared sensing is enabled, and/or whether sounddetection is enabled. The displayed status may also indicate photocellbehavior, remaining sensor time delay, current dimming level, devicetemperature, photocell transition time, photocell light reading, andrelay position (i.e., whether open or closed).

The lighting control software provides for the creation of lightingcontrol profiles. Lighting control profiles are outlines of settingsthat direct how a collection of devices function for a defined timeperiod. Profiles have three main components: groups, settings, andschedules. A group is a collection of devices defined by the user thatmay include some or all devices from the same zone or different zones towhich a lighting control profile is applied. The control softwareprovides the ability to identify devices according to convenientcategories and features such as, for example, function (e.g., occupancysensing, daylight sensing, and/or dimming), device type (e.g., powerpack, wall unit, or sensor), power type (e.g., low voltage or linevoltage), detection technology (e.g., passive infrared or dual passiveinfrared and sound), type of relay, and/or photocell feature. Thesettings define parameters that direct how a group of devices willfunction. The settings may be grouped into general, occupancy, daylight,or advanced category tabs. Some device settings are numerical parameters(e.g., delay time), while others are enable/disable only. The lightingcontrol screen provides a group screen for creating a profile schedule.A profile schedule includes calendar dates, times, and recurrenceperiods (e.g., daily, weekdays, weekends, weekly, monthly, and yearly).Offsets to account for sunrise and sunsets may also be programmed, aswell as adjustments for daylight savings time.

Lighting control profiles are saved in a database of the host computer.In addition, each gateway maintains a copy of all profiles applicable toits downstream devices. Advantageously, the gateways, and not the hostcomputer/control software, administer the profiles. This feature allowsthe lighting control system to operate without constant connection tothe host computer. A real-time clock within each gateway directs when aparticular profile is sent out over the network backbone. Once on thebackbone, the bridges route the profiles to the intended devices. When aparticular profile's schedule expires, the gateway will then send outeither the profile with the next highest priority setting or thedevice's default settings. Because lighting control profiles are storedin gateways, a user can access and run them on demand at the gateway.When accessed via the gateway's touch controls, the profile's normalassociated schedule is ignored and the settings entered or selected bythe user are sent immediately downstream to the applicable devices.Profiles can also be run on demand from the host computer or a remotelyaccessed computer or handheld device via the control software.

Another way of running profiles on demand is with a scene controllerwall unit of the invention. A scene controller wall unit is located in alighting control zone and provides a user with local access forselecting one of four user-created lighting profiles that can be appliedto that lighting control zone. FIG. 25 shows scene controller wall unit2507, which may be advantageously installed in zones where, for example,up to four different levels of on demand dimming are required. Thissingle gang device has four finger-touch controls 2523 a-d (nomechanical push-buttons) to which any four of the zone's lightingcontrol profiles can be assigned using the lighting control software.Scene controller wall unit 2507 also has two preferably RJ-45 connectorports and four LEDs 2554 a-d to indicate which one of the profiles iscurrently selected. Each LED is preferably located next to the profile'sname in area 2525 to indicate the selected profile. Scene controllerwall unit 2507, like other wall units, connects to other devices in thezone via daisy-chain wired CAT-5 cabling connected to its connectorports. Scene controller wall unit 2507 has the ability to communicateover the network backbone and requires connection to a bridge in orderto function.

An unlimited number of potential lighting control profiles are possiblewhen all the combinations of groups, settings, and schedules areconsidered. To organize this collection, the lighting control softwareprovides several profile management features. First, profiles can beeasily created, edited, deleted, or deactivated. Second, in order toresolve conflicts between overlapping profiles with different settings,a configurable priority list is provided to the user. Finally, aconvenient 24-hour bar chart is displayable to show the resultantprofiles scheduled for each lighting control zone. When fully expanded,this chart also shows the tracking and/or broadcast lighting controlstates for each device within a zone. A tracking state is the resultanttype(s) of lighting control information that a relay or dimming outputwill respond to when all applicable profiles and settings have beenconsidered. Tracking states include occupancy; photocell; switch;occupancy and photocell; occupancy and switch; occupancy, photocell, andswitch; photocell and switch; override on; and override off. Abroadcasting state is a listing of the lighting control information thatis output from a sensor or a switch when all applicable profiles andtheir priorities have been considered. Broadcast states includeoccupancy; photocell; switch; occupancy and photocell; occupancy andswitch; occupancy, photocell, and switch; and photocell and switch.

FIG. 26 illustrates a representative embodiment of a lighting controlsystem in accordance with the invention. System 2600 includes twonetwork backbones. Backbone 1 includes bridge 1500 a, which is wired viaCAT-5 cabling to eight lighting control zones. Bridge 1500 a also iswirelessly connected to bridge 1500 b, which is wired via CAT-5 cablingto seven lighting control zones and power supply 1911X. Power supply1911X is connected to line voltage via Class 1 wiring B and deliverspower and information via CAT-5 cabling to gateway 1801 a. The deliveredinformation is from bridges 1500 a and b, which receive information fromtheir respective lighting control zones. Power supply 1911X alsodelivers power and information via CAT-5 cabling to bridge 1500 b, whichin turn distributes remaining power and delivers information to itslighting control zones and to bridge 1500 a, which also distributesremaining power and delivers information to its lighting control zones.The delivered information is from gateway 1801 a. On the other side ofgateway 1801 a, power supply 1911 a is connected to line voltage viaClass 1 wiring B and delivers power to bridge 1700 a via low voltageClass 2 wiring C. Bridge 1700 a is wired via CAT-5 cabling to sevenlighting control zones and to bridge 1700 b. Bridge 1700 b is in turnwired via CAT-5 cabling to six lighting control zones and to gateway1801 a. Remaining power from bridge 1700 a is distributed to bridge 1700b and the lighting control zones of both bridges. Any remaining power isdelivered to gateway 1801. Gateway 1801 a is further wired via CAT-5cabling directly to another lighting control zone and to LAN 2603, whichis preferably an Ethernet LAN. Host computer 2605, which executes thelighting control software of the invention, is connected to LAN 2603.

Network backbone 2 of system 2600 includes gateway 1801 b, which is alsowired via CAT-5 cabling to LAN 2603. Gateway 1801 b is further wireddirectly to a lighting control zone and to bridge 1700 c via CAT-5cabling. Bridge 1700 c is wired to six lighting control zones and tobridge 1700 d via CAT-5 cabling. Bridge 1700 d is in turn wired to sevenlighting control zones via CAT-5 cabling and to power supply 1911 b vialow voltage Class 2 wiring C. Power supply 1911 b delivers power tobridge 1700 d, which distributes remaining power to its lighting controlzones, bridge 1700 c, bridge 1700 c's lighting control zones and, if anypower remains, to gateway 1801 b. Gateway 1801 b is also wired via CAT-5cabling to transceiver/power supply 1400, which receives line voltagevia Class 1 wiring B. Transceiver/power supply 1400 is wired via CAT-5cabling directly to a lighting control zone, and is wirelessly connectedto bridge 1500 c. Transceiver/power supply 1400 delivers power andinformation to, and receives information from, its directly connectedlighting control zone and bridge 1500 c. That received and deliveredinformation is respectively forwarded to and received from gateway 1801b. Bridge 1500 c is in turn wired via CAT-5 cabling to eight lightingcontrol zones and is wirelessly connected to bridge 1500 d, which iswired via CAT-5 cabling to eight lighting control zones

Each device in system 2600 comes factory preset with default settings.If communication with a gateway is lost, the lighting control zonesconnected thereto advantageously will continue to run according to theirdefault settings. If a lighting control zone has a power pack or powersupply daisy-chain wired within it, communication with the zone's bridgecan be lost and the zone will continue to run according to its defaultsettings. Default settings are also implemented when a zone has noscheduled profiles. Users may also customize the default settings viathe lighting control software. Because all the devices within system2600 are networked together, they can be remotely upgraded via thecontrol software in order to incorporate future system features.

Upon initial power up, system 2600 “self-commissions” and automaticallybegins functioning according to the default settings of its devices.This self-commissioning allows each lighting control zone to be wiredand tested separately from the rest of the network. Once the zone isconnected to the network backbone (via connection to a bridge orgateway), the zone is automatically classified by the control softwareas a preset zone. Advantageously, the only information an installerneeds to note is the serial number and port number of the bridge thateach zone is connected to. Information about the individual deviceswithin a zone is advantageously not required during commissioning, onlythe location of the zone itself. For example, if 300 sensors are spreadacross a building and are networked such that they use ten bridges, theinstaller would only need to write down ten bridge serial numbers andthe locations of the zones connected to the bridges' connector. This isfar simpler than having to manually commission each device as in knownlighting control systems.

As part of the self-commissioning process, the lighting control softwareadvantageously auto-populates a network tree with every device of theinvention in the system. By default, the tree is organized according tothe physical connectivity between gateways, bridges, bridge ports, andall devices daisy-chain wired in the lighting control zones. Within thetree, each bridge and its ports are labeled with the serial number orport number, respectively. Using this information, a user can then matcheach lighting control zone to what is displayed in the tree and re-labeleach zone with a custom name if desired.

For the system to be self-commissioning, each device in the system hasan ID that in one embodiment comprises 32 bits. In order to discover allthe possible combinations of the 32 bits in a device's ID, anintelligent search method needs to be performed to avoid extremely longdiscover times. To do this, the “zeroes quiet”/“ones quiet” binarysearch method is used. This method sends a command that instructs alldevices to pulse the line if the specified value (0 or 1) is present inthe specified position (1^(st)-32^(nd) bit) of their ID's. A path ischosen and devices on the opposing path are instructed to be “quiet”through use of the zeroes and ones quiet commands. This process isrepeated until all devices have been discovered.

To implement this in software, the positions of conflicts need to berecorded and returned to later to be evaluated. To accomplish this, theconcept of “paths” and “pebbles” was created. When a conflict isencountered, the current search path is pushed onto the paths stack andthe position of the conflict is pushed onto the pebbles stack. Thisallow the rest of the current search to be completed and when finished,the other paths can be evaluated. An algorithm to implement thisincludes a supervisor function and a subfunction, which is calledrepeatedly. The algorithm initiates the pointers to the paths andpebbles stacks to the bottom of the stack, which is empty. Thesubfunction is called with the current paths and pebbles values from thestack as input. The subfunction will first evaluate the path from thepaths stack up to the pebble from the pebbles stack by doing a “zeroesquiet” or “ones quiet” for each bit value up to the pebble. This ensuresthat all devices not on the current path of interest will be “quiet.”The first time through the path will be empty, and the pebble will beone so no “quiets” will be performed. Next, the algorithm tests forpresence of both a zero and a one at the current bit location. If bothare found, there is a conflict. The current path up to this point isthen loaded onto the paths stack with a zero at the current position,with the pebble loaded onto the pebbles stack as an indication of wherethe path ended. The algorithm then “takes the high road” and evaluatesthe next bit position until the final bit position is reached and everybit has been tested. Each pass results in one newly discovered device.The supervisor function then evaluates if there are any more paths andpebbles on the stack and runs the subfunction again if there is until nomore conflicts exist. If no response is returned for either the zero orthe one at a given bit position, an error condition exists and thealgorithm returns an error path.

The design of a lighting control system of the invention has thefollowing basic rules and steps. Every lighting control zone requireseither a power pack or a connection to a bridge in order to power thezone's devices and communication bus. While devices within a zone can bewired in any order, connecting the power pack directly to a bridge isrecommended. Also, while virtually any combination of devices can existin a lighting control zone, each zone should only have at most onedevice with a photocell. Occupancy sensors should be chosen withcoverage patterns and detection technology appropriate for the area tobe covered, using multiple sensors of various types as needed. Photocellsensors should be added where significant daylight is available andwhere the photocell sensor can see all the lights it is controlling.Wall units with the appropriate function(s) should be added where localcontrol is desired. An adequate number of power packs should be addedsuch that all circuits can be switched and that sufficient system poweris supplied. Each lighting control zone should be connected to a bridgeor alternatively directly to a gateway. Because each device in the zone(e.g., sensors, wall units, power packs) has two preferably RJ-45connector ports and are connected to each other in a daisy-chain fashionwith a connection from one of the devices to a bridge or gateway, eachzone should have, if wired correctly, exactly one open connector port(i.e., at the last device in the daisy-chain connection). Bridge tobridge hops should be minimized, and extra bridge ports should be leftunused to accommodate the addition of future zones. Gateways should beplaced such that connection to a preferably Ethernet LAN is convenient.

Alternatively, a lighting control zone can be created to operate in apure stand-alone configuration, with no connection to the networkbackbone. Operation of the zone would be only sensor-based and manual,there would be no time-based control. The devices in such a zone wouldalso be connected together in daisy-chain fashion, but there would be noconnection to a bridge or gateway, thus leaving exactly two openconnector ports.

In one embodiment of a lighting control system in accordance with theinvention, the control software can support about 40 concurrent Websessions and at least about 40 gateway. Each gateway can connect toabout 400 downstream devices (including bridges), and there is no limitto the number of bridges per network (other than the 400-devicelimitation of a gateway). Also, the control software can support about40 profiles per lighting control zone. The lighting control system ofthe invention can thus be advantageously used to create and control avery large system with a very large number of lighting devices.

Note that the lighting control system of the invention is not limitedsolely to the control of lighting devices, but alternatively oradditionally may be used to control or work with other devices andsystems, such as, for example, HVAC, fire detection, and securitysystems.

Thus it is seen that a networked lighting control system that useswireless connectivity and distributed intelligence to control multipleindependent zones of lighting is provided. One skilled in the art willappreciate that the invention can be practiced by other than thedescribed embodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustrationand not of limitation, and the invention is limited only by the claimswhich follow.

1. A lighting control system comprising: a lighting control deviceinstalled in a defined area and operative to automatically control theon/off state of lighting in the defined area, the lighting controldevice programmable to vary the manner in which the on/off state of thelighting is controlled; a communications router connected to thelighting control device and operative to receive information from thelighting control device and to send programming instructions to thelighting control device; a gateway in communication with thecommunications router and operative to receive the information from thecommunications router and to send programming instructions to thecommunications router for the lighting control device, the gatewayhaving an input/output interface operative to receive manually-inputprogramming instructions for the lighting control device and to displayinformation regarding the lighting control device or the lighting in thedefined area; a communications network connected to the gateway, thegateway operative to receive programming instructions and requests forinformation via the communications network; a host computer or serverconnected to the communications network and operative to receiveinformation from the gateway via the communications network; andlighting control software executing on the host computer or server andaccessible at the host computer or server; wherein: the host computer orserver executing the control software is operative to program thelighting control device, process the information received from thegateway, and display information pertaining to the lighting controldevice, the lighting in the defined area, the communications router, thegateway, and the communications network; the gateway, the communicationsdevice, and the lighting control device operate automatically andindependently of the host computer and the lighting control softwareshould the host computer become inoperative or disconnected from thegateway; and the lighting control device operates automatically andindependently of the host computer, the lighting control software, thegateway, and the communications router should the host computer, thegateway, or the communications router become inoperative or disconnectedfrom the lighting control device.
 2. The system of claim 1 furthercomprising a power/relay device connected to the lighting control deviceand to the lighting in the defined area, the power/relay devicesupplying power to the lighting control device and comprising a relayconnecting disconnecting line voltage to the lighting in the definedarea.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein the lighting control device is anoccupancy or daylight sensor comprising a microcontroller or acombination wall switch and occupancy sensor comprising amicrocontroller.
 4. The system of claim 1 wherein the lighting controldevice controls the light level of the lighting in the defined area inresponse to either manual inputs received from the defined area, sensoryinputs received from the defined area in conjunction with programmedinstructions stored in the lighting control device, or programminginstructions received from the communications router.
 5. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the lighting control device simultaneously automaticallycontrols the on/off state of a second load in the defined area, thelighting control device configured to automatically control the on/offstate of the lighting in accordance with a first set of parameter valuesand to automatically control the on/off state of the second load inaccordance with a second set of parameter values.
 6. The system of claim1 wherein the communications router receives power and distributes someof the received power to the lighting control device.
 7. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the communications router has a plurality ofinput/outputs, receives power at one of the input/outputs, anddistributes at least some of the received power equally among the otherinput/outputs.
 8. The system of claim 1 wherein the communicationsrouter has a plurality of input/outputs, receives power at one of theinput/outputs from the lighting control device, and distributes at leastsome of the received power equally among the other input/outputs.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein communications router receives power anddistributes at least some of the received power to the gateway.
 10. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the connection between the lighting controldevice and the communications router is via category 5 cabling.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the communication between the communicationsrouter and the gateway is via category 5 cabling.
 12. The system ofclaim 1 further comprising a transceiver connected to the gateway, thecommunication between the communications router and the gateway is viawireless communication between the communications router and thetransceiver.
 13. The system of claim 1 wherein the gateway comprises amicrocontroller, a display screen, and a keypad.
 14. The system of claim1 wherein the lighting control device or the gateway comprisescapacitive sensing finger-touch controls that dynamically adjust fingerpress thresholds based on measured electromagnetic or radio frequencynoise and measured baseline capacitance.
 15. The system of claim 1wherein the communications network is a local area network.
 16. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the lighting control software is World WideWeb based.
 17. The system of claim 1 wherein the lighting controlsoftware is accessible remotely from the defined area and from the hostcomputer or server by a computer device connected via wired or wirelesscommunication to the communications network.
 18. The system of claim 17wherein the computer device is a personal computer, a laptop computer,or a handheld computer device.
 19. The system of claim 1 wherein thelighting control device is programmable at the device itself, thegateway, the host computer or sever, and a remote computer deviceaccessing the lighting control software via a connection to thecommunications network.
 20. The system of claim 1 wherein the on/offstate of the lighting in the defined area is controllable at thelighting control device, the gateway, the host computer or sever, and aremote computer device accessing the lighting control software via aconnection to the communications network.
 21. The system of claim 1wherein information pertaining to the lighting control device or thelighting in the defined area is available at the gateway, the hostcomputer or sever, and a remote computer device accessing the lightingcontrol software via a connection to the communications network.
 22. Alighting control system comprising: a first plurality of lightingcontrol devices operative to collectively control the lighting in afirst defined area; a second plurality of lighting control devicesoperative to collectively control the lighting in a second defined area;a communications router having a plurality of input/outputs, the firstplurality of lighting control devices connected to one of theinput/outputs and the second plurality of lighting control devicesconnected to another one of the input/outputs, the communications routeroperative to receive information from the first and second pluralitiesof lighting control devices and to send programming instructions to thefirst and second pluralities of lighting control devices; a gateway incommunication with the communications router and operative to receiveinformation from the communications router and to send programminginstructions to the communications router for any one of the lightingcontrol devices; a communications network connected to the gateway, thegateway operative to receive programming instructions and requests forinformation via the communications network; a host computer or serverconnected to the communications network and operative to receiveinformation from the gateway via the communications network; andlighting control software executing on the host computer or server andaccessible at the host computer or server; wherein: the host computerexecuting the lighting control software automatically searches for andidentifies each of the lighting control devices in the first and secondpluralities of lighting control devices.
 23. The system of claim 22wherein the host computer executing the lighting control softwaredisplays a diagram identifying each of the lighting control devices andillustrating the physical connections between each of the lightingcontrol devices, the communications router, and the gateway.
 24. Thesystem of claim 22 wherein the host computer executing the lightingcontrol software first automatically searches for and identifies each ofthe lighting control devices in the first plurality of lighting controlszones before automatically searching for and identifying each of thelighting control devices in the second plurality of lighting controldevices.
 25. The system of claim 22 wherein the automatic search andidentification of each lighting control device in the first plurality oflighting control devices is initiated at the communications router. 26.The system of claim 22 wherein the first plurality of lighting controldevices is connected in a daisy-chain manner.
 27. The system of claim 22wherein the identification information pertaining to the communicationsrouter is manually provided to the lighting control software prior tothe automatic search and identification of each lighting control device.28. The system of claim 22 wherein identification of the input/outputsto which the first and second pluralities of lighting control devicesare connected is manually provided to the lighting control softwareprior to the automatic search and identification of each lightingcontrol device.
 29. The system of claim 22 wherein the gateway has aninput/output interface operative to receive manually-input programminginstructions for any of the lighting control devices and to displayinformation regarding any of the lighting control devices or thelighting in the first or second defined areas.
 30. A method of operatinga lighting control system comprising: turning on lighting in a definedarea upon manual activation of a switch in the defined area; activatingautomatic on functionality upon the manual activation of the switchwherein the lighting stays on upon sensing of occupancy within thedefined area; initiating a time delay upon sensing of vacancy within thedefined area; canceling the time delay upon sensing of occupancy withinthe defined area during the time delay; automatically turning off thelighting upon expiration of the time delay without sensing occupancywithin the defined area during the time delay; maintaining automatic onfunctionality during a grace period; automatically turning on lightingupon sensing of occupancy within the defined area during the graceperiod; and deactivating automatic on functionality upon expiration ofthe grace period without sensing occupancy within the defined areaduring the grace period wherein the lighting will not automatically turnon upon sensing of occupancy within the defined area.
 31. The method ofclaim 30 further comprising programming the length of the time delay.32. The method of claim 30 further comprising programming the length ofthe grace period.
 33. The method of claim 30 wherein, after theactivating automatic on functionality, a second manual activation of theswitch while the lighting is on turns off the lighting and deactivatesthe automatic on functionality.
 34. The method of claim 30 furthercomprising monitoring status of the lighting, the time delay, or thegrace period on a display.
 35. The method of claim 30 further comprisingoverriding the deactivating automatic on functionality by remotelyrestoring automatic on functionality.